Employee Recognition Ideas

Employee Recognition Ideas Drive Motivation and Job Satisfaction

Employee recognition is a powerful tool in building morale, motivation and job satisfaction. A pat on the back, a personal note from a peer or a supervisor does wonders. Small, informal celebrations are many times more effective than a once a quarter or once a year formal event.Employee appreciation and recognition are critical to achieving organizational goals. All humans need to feel appreciated. In a survey conducted by Robert Half International, the results showed that employee recognition and appreciation was the number one reason employees stay in their work environment with fair compensation being secondary.Here are a few employee recognition ideas to consider:

Drive My BMW. Graham Weston, co-founder and CEO of Rackspace Managed Hosting, gives the keys to his BMW M3 convertible for a week to his top performing employees. This creative way to reward employees has a bigger impact than cash. He says, “If you gave somebody a $200 bonus, it wouldn’t mean very much. When someone gets to drive my car for a week, they never forget it.” The important point is pay and money does not necessarily create job satisfaction. There has to be something more.

The Extra Mile. United Services Automobile Association (USAA) provides blank “Thank You” note stationary to their workers for a program called The Extra Mile. Employees are encouraged to say “Thank You” to each other for the help they receive at work. The most surprising thing happened on the first day the notes were printed. They ran out! The company couldn’t keep up with the demand.

President’s Employee Recognition Dinner. Schreiber Foods, Inc. holds an annual President’s Employee Recognition Dinner. Throughout the year employees nominate each other for five award categories: leadership, quality improvement, innovation, community involvement, etc. A team then evaluates the nominations, and the winners selected. They are then announced and recognized at the President’s Dinner. The recipients receive a crystal award and a bonus.

Before embarking on creating an employee recognition program, take the time to first discover what maybe causing employees to be un-motivated. Identify and fix the de-motivators first.